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Pipilotti Rist Hon RA (b. 1962)

  • Pipilotti Rist Hon RA (b. 1962)

  • Works
  • CV

Pipilotti Rist, a pioneer of spatial video art, has been a central figure within the international art scene since the mid-1980s.

Astounding the art world with the energetic exorcistic statement of her now famous single channel videos, such as ‘I’m Not The Girl Who Misses Much’, 1986 and ‘Pickelporno’, 1992, her artistic work has co-developed with technical advancements and in playful exploration of its new possibilities to propose footage resembling a collective brain. Through large video projections and digital manipulation, she has developed all-encompassing installations that draw life from slowly caressing showers of vivid colour tones, like her works ‘Sip My Ocean’, 1996 or ‘Worry Will Vanish’, 2014.

For Rist, showing vulnerability is a sign of strength on which she draws for inspiration. With her curious and lavish recordings of nature (to which humans belong as an animal), and her investigative editing, Rist seeks to justify the privileged position we are born with, simply by being human. Her installations and exhibition concepts are expansive, finding within the mind, senses and body the possibility for endless discovery and poetical invention. ‘Pixel Forest’, 2016, made from 3,000 thousand LEDs hung on strings, resembles a movie screen that has exploded into the room, allowing viewers an immersive walk through 3-dimensional video. As Anna Katz, curator at LA MOCA, puts it: ‘Ever watchful of the power dynamic between camera and viewer, insistently eschewing panoptical or omniscient views, Rist invites the viewer to be the agent of her own movement through the spatialized video field.’

Since 1984, Rist has had countless solo and group exhibitions, and video screenings worldwide. Her recent solo exhibitions are ‘Big Heartedness, Be My Neighbor’ at The Geffen Contemporary, MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (2021 – 2022), ‘Your Eye Is My Island’ at MoMAK, The National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto and ART TOWER MITO (2021). ‘Åbn min Lysning. Open my Glade’ at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Humlebæk Denmark (2019), ‘Sip My Ocean’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney (2017 – 2018), ‘Pixel Forest’ at New Museum New York (2016 – 2017), ‘Your Saliva is My Diving Suit of the Ocean of Pain’ at Kunsthaus Zürich (2016) and ‘Come On Honey…’ at Kunsthalle Krems (2015), all resulted in record-breaking attendance numbers for each institution. The next solo exhibition is planned to open at Tai Kwun Hong Kong in May 2022.

Profile

Honorary RA

Born: 1962 in Grabs

Nationality: Swiss

Elected Hon RA: 9 September 2021

Gender: Female

Preferred media: Video art and Installation art